Scrubber systems have been developed for controlling harmful emissions from industrial and utility boilers like those used in power plants. Such scrubber systems generally include a chamber in which the flue gas is directed through a liquid spray of lime and fly ash slurry. A reaction occurs with the sulfur dioxide in the gas to form a calcium compound fly ash which can then be collected at the outlet of the chamber, thereby "scrubbing" the flue gas free of sulfur dioxide pollutants.
When the various parameters of such dry scrubbers are properly balanced, the resultant ash can be easily collected and handled in particulate form; however, if system upsets occur, the liquid lime and fly ash slurry can collect and harden on the walls of the chamber. This material can subsequently fall off in large chunks and sheets which can plug the outlet of the chamber and thus disrupt operation of the entire system. In the past it has been necessary to shut down the system and then disassemble a portion of the outlet of the scrubber chamber in order to break up and remove any large chunks of ash clogging the outlet. It will be appreciated that this ash material is quite hard and cementicious in consistency, and that removal of clogs can be a difficult, time-consuming, and expensive task.
Various comminuting devices have been available heretorfore, however, none of the prior devices is adapted or particularly suited for use with a scrubber chamber for reducing hard and often times relatively large chunks of ash material on a continuous basis to facilitate discharge and further handling without interrupting operation of the overall system. A need has thus developed for such a device.